Girls-only camping trip

Yup, the tent got up and we had a fire both nights -- no men required. Although we did need a Y chromosome to help when the car battery died. We camped in the White Mountains and did some hiking and swimming along the Kancamagus Highway. This was after I insisted that the girls put away the Gameboys and Nintendo DS. Everyone had a great time.

When a Song Can Change Your Life

I just turned 40. I have a daughter turning five years old next month. My son is two and one-half. I work full-time. My husband is a police officer working the overnight shift and takes overtime or detail work whenever it's available. I'll admit to being overwhelmed on a regular basis. Lately I've found myself looking forward to when the kids are older and not so hands-on. While browsing through my satellite radio channels, I came across this song on a country channel. Country music is easy to bash with the simple lyrics and talk of drinking beer, pick-up trucks, and broken hearts -- but this one hit home and made me think. The lyrics are now hanging on my fridge. The part that really got to me is below.

Five years later there's a plumber workin' on the water heater
Dog's barkin', phone's ringin'
One kid's cryin' and one kid's screamin'
And she keeps apologizin'

He says, They don't bother me
I've got two babies of my own
One's thirty-six, one's twenty-three
Huh, it's hard to believe

But you're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast

These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
Buy you're gonna miss this

Chilling Words

From a Boston Globe story about a 7-year-old boy who was shot while playing kickball in his Roxbury neighborhood, "Bullets really have no name." How sad that a little boy playing ends up hit by a stray bullet.